About Cape Town Insider

I started Cape Town Insider in 2018 because I was tired of reading the same recommendations everywhere. Every "best of Cape Town" list had the same 15 restaurants. Every travel guide sent visitors to the same five attractions. And most of it was written by people who didn't actually live here.

I wanted something different — a place where I could share the spots I actually go to, the meals that genuinely surprised me, and the corners of the city that don't make it onto the usual lists. Not a magazine. Not a directory. Just an honest local perspective on what makes Cape Town worth exploring, eating through, and living in.

Seven years later, that's still exactly what this is. I write about what I know because I live it — every restaurant review is a meal I ate, every hike is a trail I walked, and every neighbourhood guide comes from spending real time there. If it's on this site, it's because I'd honestly recommend it to a friend.

Before Cape Town Insider, I spent years writing financial content for UK publications — the kind of writing where accuracy isn't optional and every claim needs backing up. That rigour carried over. When I say a restaurant is worth the drive, I've been there. When I recommend a guesthouse, I've checked the details.

That background also means I approach content differently from most lifestyle bloggers. I care about getting things right — prices, opening hours, practical tips — not just pretty photos and vague superlatives. Over 3,500 people trust the Insider Edit newsletter to land in their inbox, and I take that seriously.

I've partnered with brands like Klok, McQueens, Genie Beds, and Kiehl's — but every partnership is clearly disclosed, and I only work with brands I'd genuinely recommend. If something is sponsored, you'll always know.